Untitled
I Love You
~January~
I used to think that love was something real, but I know differently now. Let me explain.
My name is Erica Sanchez, I'm 17 with long, dark brown hair, and hazel eyes. I'm only 5"4', and compared to my family, that's short. Anyways, my family has been friends with the Cullen's family since before I can remember and my best friend from that family is Edward; I mean, I get along great with his siblings...except of course for Rosalie, she just makes me so mad sometimes. I just turned 17 last week, and my parents told me they had an announcement, so I was really excited, well this is what happened:
"Erica, we have an announcement to make during dinner tonight." My mother tells me.
I nod my head while checking myself out in the mirror; I had been doing that a lot lately.
"Your dress looks fine dear." She tells me, slightly annoyed.
I smile at her before turning around and following her out the door; I guess it just didn't register that she was making an announcement and the Cullens were going to be there as well. When I finally get downstairs and into the kitchen, my mother makes me, ok not makes me, but has me sit next to Edward. I honestly don't mind it all that much, but I hate the look that Rosalie is giving me again, I try my best to ignore it, and even smile when Edward grabs my hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. My father taps his fork on his wine glass, effectively catching everyone's attention, and breaking it. I smile at Edward as my mother sighs, bending down to gently pick the pieces up and put them in a napkin.
"Alright, first I would like to thank the Cullens for attending this evening." My father starts.
The older Cullens smile at him and nod their heads, and my mother rolls her eyes.
"Next, I would like to make an announcement."
Everyone looks up at him expectantly and I look at Edward, confusion in my eyes.
"We have been family friends for as long as I can remember, and I share the honor with Carlisle, Esme and my wife to announce the engagement of my daughter Erica Sanchez to the Cullen's son, Edward."
I felt like I was going to throw up. I didn't know what to do. Everyone was clapping and smiling at me, except Rosalie of course, but that didn't matter. I didn't love Edward like that, he's my best friend. It must have shown on my face because Edward put his arm around my shoulder gave me a quick squeeze. I remember taking a deep breath before standing up.
"I'm sorry, but may I be excused?" I ask my parents politely.
My mother nods and I walk away from the table slowly before turning around the corner and bolting up the stairs. I don't remember when I fell asleep, but I do remember crying a lot.
A soft knocking on my door wakes me up, and I look down at my now wrinkled dress and groan.
"Who is it?" I call out.
"It's me." Edward's velvet voice carries through the thick door.
Instead of answering I stand up and walk to my closet and grab some clothes out before walking to my bathroom and shutting the door. That was all I needed; a visit from my best friend turned fiance.
"Erica." Edwards voice was closer than I had expected, causing me to jump and drop my clothes on the floor of the bathroom.
"DAMNIT EDWARD!" I swear loudly.
I hear him chuckle, he knew I wasn't to be bothered when I was thinking, and he always thought it was funny. I turn the shower on, and step into the hot water, relishing the heat.
"This isn't so bad." Edward tells me.
I groan when I realize he was in the bathroom on the other side of this curtain.
"For you." I mumble.
"Do you hate me that much Erica?" He asks.
I close my eyes and lean my head against the cool tiles under the showerhead.
"I don't hate you Edward." I tell him quietly.
"Then love me."
"It's not that easy."
"Yes it is."
"No it's not."
"Erica, I love you, and I'm not going to challange my parents."
"I'm not challanging my parents either, but I'm not going to make it easy."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want that."
"Want what? I think this isn't about marrying me."
"You're the mind reader, asshole. So you tell me!"
I start to wash my hair and listen to him pace.
"Stop, I know you don't feel the need to do that." I snap.
He stops pacing and stands in front of the curtain again.
"Look, I know you love me Erica."
"Not like that though..." I whine.
"You just don't want to be like..."
I could tell he didn't want to say it, I knew I hurt him every time I said it. That's why Rosalie hated me so much, I always made it clear that I would never become one of them.
"Say it Edward." I tell him angrily.
"You don't want to be like me." He finishes quietly.
It didn't take long for Edward to leave my bathroom so I could get dressed. It also didn't take long for him to realize that I wasn't going to be at dinner tonight.
"Erica?"
I jump off my bed where Edward had been watching me as I hear running footsteps.
"DENNY!" I hollar.
Denny, an 18 year old Senior at our high school, is my boyfriend. Denny is the farthest you can get from Edward's family. He was a punk and my parent's hated him. So did everyone in the Cullen family. I smirked when Edward glared at him and Denny smiled.
"Hey baby." He mumbles, kissing my cheek.
"That's all I get?" I ask coyly.
He nods, taking my hand an pulling me to the bed.
"Dude, out."
Edward looked at me and I smirked. He knew that he was my best friend, but he also knew when I needed time alone.
"No."
I look up at him, shock on my face.
"What the hell Edward?" I snap.
"In fact, you two can't be going out anymore." Edward said, a smile lighting up his face.
"Excuse me?" Denny snaps.
"Not like you to be so polite Denny." Edward states.
I glare at him and take Denny's hand, pulling it around my waist before walking towards my door.
"I don't want my fiance cheating on me Erica." Edward called out.
I froze halfway to the door and Denny's arm dropped.
"What did he just say?" He asked me.
"Den, last night my parents announced an arranged marriage between Edward and I." I tell him quietly.
I groaned when Denny started to turn around, but I beat him to it.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM EDWARD!" I scream.
Denny stopped, turning back to look at me.
"Denny, go home babe. I will see you at school tomorrow. I'm going to fucking rip him to shreds." I tell him, my voice low enough to be convincingly threatening.
Denny nods before walking over to me and kissing me on the lips, hard and long. I moan and lean my body into his, letting his hands slide around my back.
"Erica."
Edwards voice breaks us apart. Denny looks down at me sadly, and he knew what I knew. It wasn't going to be able to last much longer, and it was going to suck. How were they supposed to explain that to their friends?
"Erica." Edward's voice was louder.
I sigh before letting go of Denny; he walks past me and out the door, closing it behind him.
"You forgot. I know." Edward says quietly.
"Shut up about what you know Edward." I snap.
I turn on my heel after hearing Denny's car pull out of the drive and walk down stairs to face my parents.
"What was Denny doing here?"
"Coming to see me."
"Then it's over."
"No. It's not."
"Erica, you will NOT cheat on that boy."
"You're right. I won't cheat on that boy, so this engagement is more than off."
"That is not proper Erica."
"Shut UP Dad."
"Erica!"
"Fuck this. I'm leaving, and I'm NOT marrying that stupid unhuman monster up there!" I yell.
I let the tears flow freely as I grab my keys and run out to the garage where my car was sitting. But instead of taking my car I hop on the dirtbike that Emmett bought me for my 10th birthday.
"Erica don't." Rosalie calls out.
I shrug her off and turn the machine on, smiling when the engine roars to life. I sit on it carefull and back it out on my tip toes, before turning it around and speeding off down the driveway. When I get to the main road I turn left and head towards the woods, hoping that I could get some alone time without any of those stupid unhuman freaks. When I finally reached the woods, I stopped my bike and sat on it, leaning on my right leg.
"Erica."
I groaned as Edward walked out of the woods towards me. So much for peace and quiet.
"What do you want?" I ask angrily.
"Just come with me."
He holds out his hand and I tighten my grip on my handlebars.
"Emmett will take the bike back." He tells me, looking into my eyes.
I shake my head and stand, as best as I can on the stupid thing, and pull the kickstart out.
"Not happening little one." Emmett's voice comes from behind me.
I look up at the sky and scream, as loud as I can. Edward looks at me with a bemused smile on my face before walking over and lifting me off the bike.
"I HATE YOU!" I scream as Emmett starts my bike and takes off down the road.
"Come on Erica." Edward pleads.
"NO I HATE YOU ALL!" I scream.
Edward sets me down, but doesn't let me go, and no matter how much I pull and push, I know it won't do any good.
"Then stop moving!" He snaps.
I glare up at him and cross my arms across my chest.
"I'm taking you home." He mumbles.
I shake my head and reach into my pocket for my cell phone.
"Who're you going to call? The police?" He asks sarcastically.
I didn't know who I was going to call, but I took it out anyway and started running through my contacts before landing on Denny's number. I hit dial as Edward sighed.
"Hello?" Denny's voice was thick.
"Den? It's Erica."
"Oh..um hey baby."
I can feel my eyes turn to slits as laughter sounds in the background.
"Denny we didn't break up." I tell him.
"Look, Erica...you're engaged and well..I mean, I was upset and Sh.."
"Shelly?!" I yell.
"There's nothing wrong with Shelly." He argues.
"Shelly?" I ask, trying to keep my voice even.
"Yes. Shelly."
"That stupid preppy whore. I'll make sure she pays Denny, you know I will." I threaten.
"What the hell is wrong with you Erica? Shelly isn't preppy." Denny yells.
"She's a fucking poser Den!" I yell back.
"We're done Erica; you have your own preps." Denny snaps.
I let the phone fall as the tears cloud my vision. If it wasn't for Edwards arms around me, I would have just sat on the ground, getting my jeans wet. I let Edward pull me to his chest, not bothered by the tears soaking his t-shirt.
"Are we really that bad Erica?" He asks quietly.
He already knew my answer, so I didn't bother saying it outloud. I let him pull me up into his arms and carry me back to my house. When we get there, my dirtbike is in the garage, the plastic shining cleanly. I smile at Emmett's attempt to make me happy and walk up the stairs when Edwards puts me down.
"You coming in?" I ask him.
"You don't want me to." He states.
"Read my mind asshole." I mumble.
He looks up at me with shock on his face, making me smile. He follows me inside and my parents smile at us. I stop, causing Edward to run into me; I roll my eyes knowing he did it on purpose and decide to play along. I lean back into him and let his arms wrap around my waist. My mom smiles at us and nudges my dad as I turn around to look Edward in the eyes. I tell myself over and over again that I want this, trying to make myself really want it. I feel his ice cold lips touch mine and I inhale sharply, inadvertantly pushing my body against his. I feel him smile against my lips and I can't hold back a smile.
"Take it upstairs, seriously!" Emmett calls walking into the house.
I smirk into Edwards lips, but he shakes his head, ever so slightly. He knew I wanted to mess with them, but he wouldn't let me do it. I plead with him in my mind, telling him over and over again that after a few more kisses and we would go upstairs, leaving them to think what they wanted. He shakes his head again and I glare at him.
"Edward please." I mumble as quietly as I can.
I heard Emmett grunting with laughter, and my dad and mom chuckling. Edward pulled a way just a fraction, to look me in the eyes. I look back at him and think about what I really wanted, and that was making my parents happy. Edward closed his eyes, lost in his own thought before he leaned forward and kissed me again. It was with so much passion and anger that I nearly lost my balance, but his arms around my waist kept me close to him, and I let my hands slide around his neck. I could tell that he wanted more, and I knew he knew I was starting to feel the same way, but I also knew how much pain he was in from kissing me. I tried to pull away gently, but he didn't seem to want to let me go.
"Hey Rose...what do you think?" Emmett asks her in a playful voice.
I hear a hard slap before Edward pulls away from me.
"Shit Emmett, can't you go get dominated elsewhere?" I mumble, a bit confused and more than a little angry.
This only caused Emmett to laugh harder, and my parents to join in. I unwillingly let out a squeak when Edward picked me up and without a word, carried me upstairs, stopping only when the door was shut, locked and I was on the bed under him.
"Keep telling yourself you want this Erica." He snaps.
I close my eyes and then look at him again. He looked away with a sadness in his eyes that I couldn't place and I sat up under him.
"Edward."
"I already know." He tells me quietly.
"Let me just say it please. It'll help me."
He nods his head and shifts his body so he's sitting next to me.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't using you back there. In fact, I think I was starting to like it. But you can't take advantage of that Edward. I love you, not the way that I should since I'm engaged to you, but I do love you. You have to understand that it's going to be hard for me to accept this."
I pause and look at him, but he won't meet my eyes.
"Shit Edward. You look like shit right now." I tell him.
He grunts, causing me to sigh. I lay down on my bed, resting my head on his chest and I feel him shift under me; when I look up he's looking down at me.
I want this Edward, I think, looking up at him. He shakes his head and I feel myself getting frustrated.
"DAMNIT EDWARD!" I hollar.
"Hey keep it down in there you two!" Emmett hollars through the door.
I groan and huck a pillow at the door when Edward nods. I laugh as it hits Emmett square in the face.
"HEY!" Emmett yells.
He glares at us before walking further into the room.
"What do you want Emmett?" I ask a bit irritated.
"Your parents want you to come downstairs. Your mom wants to talk to you or something like that." He tells me.
I sit down and try to control my anger at being interrupted in my conversation with Edward.
"Tell them I'm in the middle of something and that I'll be down soon." I tell him.
He smirks before walking back out of my bedroom.
"Go lock the door mindreader." I mumble to Edward.
He's there and back before I hear the lock fully click and I lay back down, my head on his chest again. I do want this, I tell myself, forgetting about Edward for a second. Plus, he's very handsome, the eyes, and the hair and...I stop myself when I feel Edward chuckling under me.
"Shut up." I snap.
He smiles down at me and within a second I'm laying under him again, my heart beating fast.
"I don't want to hurt you." I whisper.
He smiles at me and lowers his head.
"You won't." He promises.
I sigh and put my arm around his neck, feeling the cool skin against my warm skin. I tilt my face to meet his and inhale sharply when his cold lips touch mine. He pulls away after a second and I groan.
"Erica, I want to marry you first."
I pulled away from Edward as best as I could with his arms behind my head and let my head fall to the side, closing my eyes.
"Erica come on." He mumbles angrily.
"No Edward." I snap, wiggling my way out from under him.
I hear him sigh but I walk away from the bed and to the door. I unbolt it and walk downstairs where my parents are sitting with the Cullens. I could tell they knew I was angry just by the way they avoided eye contact, but I felt a calm come over me and I realized that Jasper was standing close to me. I smile softly at him and nod and he gives me a small smile before sitting next to Alice.
"Erica, we understand that you don't want to do this but..."
I hold up a hand for silence and my dad stops talking, looking at me carefully. I take a deep breath before I say anything.
"Look, I love Edward and the Cullens." I start, looking over at Rosalie.
"All of you." I add as an after thought.
Rosalie looks at me cautiously but says nothing.
"I don't love Edward the way you all want me to, and this is so sudden. But I expect that you aren't expecting me to change who I am just to fit in with this family."
My mom opens her mouth but I shake my head.
"I'll marry the stupid guy, but I will not. And I mean I will NOT turn into one of them." I spit out.
"Erica."
I turn around to face Edward who is standing unnervingly close.
"Back off." I snap.
He shakes his head and then grabs my arms before I turn to run. I glare at him when he turns me around to face our families.
"She's lying." He states.
I close my eyes and look at the floor.
"Erica?"
I look up at my mother with anger in my eyes.
"What's he talking about Erica?" Rosalie asks, her voice taunting.
I shift uncomfortably in Edwards arms and twist myself around to bury my face in his chest. I feel his hand on the back of my head and I start thinking again; I just want them to be happy, I tell myself, and I want to be happy too, but I miss Denny and I don't want to kill people. I feel Edward flinch, but I know he feels the same way.
"She'll do it." He tells them all quietly.
I hear Rosalie hiss before storming off to the kitchen, followed by a chuckling Emmett. I try to hide myself by pushing against Edwards body, causing him to laugh. I hear my mom and dad and Edward's parents laugh along with Alice.
"Take me upstairs." I tell Edward quietly.
He nods and picks me up gently and carries me up the stairs, smiling when Emmett walks back into the living room hooting and hollaring.
~One Year Later~
~June: Graduation~
"I'm NOT GOING!" I scream at my mother.
She ducks behind the door as I throw, with excessive force, a shoe at the door, effectively denting the wood.
"Erica, please don't make me get Emmett up here." My mom pleads.
"BRING IT ON!" I hollar.
I walk back into my bathroom and look at myself. My eyes had just started turning a light honey brown, and my face was as pale as snow. I growled at myself before putting my fist through the glass, throwing shards across the room.
"Erica, come on, graduation isn't that bad." Emmett mutters walking in.
"Shut up." I snap.
"Just becuase you're my sister now doesn't mean you can be a bitch!" Emmett yells.
"I don't care what I am anymore!" I hollar.
I sit on the floor and put my head in my hands. I hated what I was. Hated it with every fiber in my being. I can't have kids, I can't grow old. I wanted to die. The only good thing was...
"ERICA RESINDA CULLEN GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" Edwards voice sounded through the house.
I smirked at Emmett who looked down at me, a smirk on his face.
"Is Rose still mad after the last stunt we pulled?" I ask him.
He shakes his head and grins as I get to my feet. When I married Edward, and I became...one of...them...I found out that I was just as strong as Emmett; and it didn't fade either. I was just as strong as him and a bit faster than him a year later and he loved it. We played pranks on the others constantly and got in trouble, constantly. I jumped onto Emmett's back with ease and barely held on as he fled down the stairs and past Edward, nearly knocking him over. Neither of us knew what we were doing, and so neither did Edward. I laughed when I saw Edward following us and started laughing harder when Rosalie, Jasper and Alice joined in the chase.
I jumped off of Emmett's back as soon as we neared the football field and felt a sense of pride as Edward nearly bowled into us.
"Erica." Edward's voice had anger in it.
I cringed and realized that I had forgotten to tell my parents I was going.
"It's alright, we figured it out when Emmett was gone." My mother says, stopping next to us.
I smile up at her as she takes the rest of the family to find seats on the bleachers. I turn to my husband, not looking him in the eye.
"Don't think that Erica." Edward mumbles, his voice laced with guilt.
I shake my head and turn around, all in one swift motion and it makes me smile. But I frown when Edward grabs my arm and spins me around, pulling me close to his body. I narrow my eyes at him as he tilts his head towards mine.
"I love you Erica." He tells me before planting a light kiss on my lips.
I stay perfectly still, which isn't hard anymore, and I wait until he sighs, giving up.
"What's wrong?" He asks.
I glare at him before turning around and walking to where my graduation was starting.
~P A R T Y~
I look around the house and smirk, all my old friends were there, but they had a tendency to stay away from me. I watch Denny getting yelled at by his newest girlfriend and I walked over to them.
"Hey Den."
"Erica?"
He looks at me, confusion evident on his face. I smile and nod my head and watch as his girlfriend stalks off.
"Sorry about that." I say, gesturing to wear his girlfriend was now standing with her friends.
He shrugs and takes a few steps closer. I watch him carefully and smirk when I notice Edward watching from a distance. I shake my head and look back at Denny, focusing on him. Denny was leaning towards me to say something.
"Hey, let's take this outside!" He yells.
Of course, I could already hear him, but I noded anyways and followed him out towards the back deck where the music was quiet. I let him lead me to one of the darker areas, and even smirked when he pulled me down on his lap.
"I missed you Erica." He mumbles into my ear.
I lean my head against his, releshing the warmth from the human skin, the warmth I would never have again.
"You missed me too, right?" He asks.
I nod, and lean my head lower, resting it on his chest. I raise my head a little bit when he rests his hand on my lowerback. I knew I wasn't being fair, but I wasn't going to let myself lose this moment with someone I had loved and hadn't been able to love in over a year.
"Erica come with me back to my place. My rents are out of town." Denny tells her.
I nod and stand up, letting him take my hand and lead me off the porch and around the side of the house. I had completely forgotten about Edward. I was so extremely happy to have Denny back in my life, that I think Jasper was the reason why Emmett and Alice were standing in the front yard when I got there.
"HEY SIS!" Emmett's voice roared over the music from inside.
I didn't even realize he was talking to me as Denny pulled me to his car. I sat in the passengers seat and let him shut my door. I felt completely content.
~Alice's P.O.V.~
"Now what?" Emmett asks his sister.
"She will sleep with him if we don't tell Edward. But you're going to tell him so it doesn't matter what I say." I tell him.
I watch Emmett turn around and blur off into the house, turning back to watch Denny's car drive down the dirt road with my new sister in the car.
~Erica~
I sat quietly on the ten minute drive to Denny's house, blissfully unaware that my husband was following us along with his brother. I look up when Denny stops the car, and smile at the small house, getting out and following Denny to the front door, but before he can open it Edward is standing in front of him.
"SHIT!" Denny yells, jumping backwards and stumbling into Emmett.
"FUCK!" He yells out, this time stumbling sideways.
"Watch your language. There's a lady present." Emmett snaps.
"Hardly." Edward mumbles.
I look up sharply at Edward and take a few steps towards him before Emmett grabs my arms.
"Let's go little miss bitch." Emmett mutters, pulling me backwards.
"I'm not leaving Denny here with this fucking monster!" I snap.
Emmett stops in his tracks and drops my arms; I watch in slow motion as he steps to the side and Edwards hand grabs my throat. I smirk at him, while Denny gapes.
"That hurts so badly Edward." I say lightly.
"I can make it hurt so much more Erica." He tells me, his voice low.
I grin at him and in a flash, I'm gone; I'm headed back to my parent's house and into my old bedroom through the window. I know that Edward is only seconds behind me, and that Alice and Jasper had arrived at Denny's house to help Emmett calm him down. As soon as I come to a complete stop, Edward has me pinned against the wall, his lips touching mine.
"Erica that wasn't funny." He whispers.
I smirk and look up at him with my eyebrows raised.
"Edward, I don't think anything's funny." I tell him, trying to keep my voice low.
"Kiss me."
I laughed. He hadn't asked, he had simply told me. And I knew what he was going to do before he did it, so I turned my face ever so slightly so his lips hit my cheek. I closed my eyes against the feeling, trying to keep my feelings down.
"I love you Erica, but DON'T hurt me!" Edward yells.
I cringe at his words and look back at him, then at the floor when I see the pain in his eyes.
"I love you too Edward, you know that." I tell him before kissing him.
I used to think that love was something real, but I know differently now. Let me explain.
My name is Erica Sanchez, I'm 17 with long, dark brown hair, and hazel eyes. I'm only 5"4', and compared to my family, that's short. Anyways, my family has been friends with the Cullen's family since before I can remember and my best friend from that family is Edward; I mean, I get along great with his siblings...except of course for Rosalie, she just makes me so mad sometimes. I just turned 17 last week, and my parents told me they had an announcement, so I was really excited, well this is what happened:
"Erica, we have an announcement to make during dinner tonight." My mother tells me.
I nod my head while checking myself out in the mirror; I had been doing that a lot lately.
"Your dress looks fine dear." She tells me, slightly annoyed.
I smile at her before turning around and following her out the door; I guess it just didn't register that she was making an announcement and the Cullens were going to be there as well. When I finally get downstairs and into the kitchen, my mother makes me, ok not makes me, but has me sit next to Edward. I honestly don't mind it all that much, but I hate the look that Rosalie is giving me again, I try my best to ignore it, and even smile when Edward grabs my hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. My father taps his fork on his wine glass, effectively catching everyone's attention, and breaking it. I smile at Edward as my mother sighs, bending down to gently pick the pieces up and put them in a napkin.
"Alright, first I would like to thank the Cullens for attending this evening." My father starts.
The older Cullens smile at him and nod their heads, and my mother rolls her eyes.
"Next, I would like to make an announcement."
Everyone looks up at him expectantly and I look at Edward, confusion in my eyes.
"We have been family friends for as long as I can remember, and I share the honor with Carlisle, Esme and my wife to announce the engagement of my daughter Erica Sanchez to the Cullen's son, Edward."
I felt like I was going to throw up. I didn't know what to do. Everyone was clapping and smiling at me, except Rosalie of course, but that didn't matter. I didn't love Edward like that, he's my best friend. It must have shown on my face because Edward put his arm around my shoulder gave me a quick squeeze. I remember taking a deep breath before standing up.
"I'm sorry, but may I be excused?" I ask my parents politely.
My mother nods and I walk away from the table slowly before turning around the corner and bolting up the stairs. I don't remember when I fell asleep, but I do remember crying a lot.
A soft knocking on my door wakes me up, and I look down at my now wrinkled dress and groan.
"Who is it?" I call out.
"It's me." Edward's velvet voice carries through the thick door.
Instead of answering I stand up and walk to my closet and grab some clothes out before walking to my bathroom and shutting the door. That was all I needed; a visit from my best friend turned fiance.
"Erica." Edwards voice was closer than I had expected, causing me to jump and drop my clothes on the floor of the bathroom.
"DAMNIT EDWARD!" I swear loudly.
I hear him chuckle, he knew I wasn't to be bothered when I was thinking, and he always thought it was funny. I turn the shower on, and step into the hot water, relishing the heat.
"This isn't so bad." Edward tells me.
I groan when I realize he was in the bathroom on the other side of this curtain.
"For you." I mumble.
"Do you hate me that much Erica?" He asks.
I close my eyes and lean my head against the cool tiles under the showerhead.
"I don't hate you Edward." I tell him quietly.
"Then love me."
"It's not that easy."
"Yes it is."
"No it's not."
"Erica, I love you, and I'm not going to challange my parents."
"I'm not challanging my parents either, but I'm not going to make it easy."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want that."
"Want what? I think this isn't about marrying me."
"You're the mind reader, asshole. So you tell me!"
I start to wash my hair and listen to him pace.
"Stop, I know you don't feel the need to do that." I snap.
He stops pacing and stands in front of the curtain again.
"Look, I know you love me Erica."
"Not like that though..." I whine.
"You just don't want to be like..."
I could tell he didn't want to say it, I knew I hurt him every time I said it. That's why Rosalie hated me so much, I always made it clear that I would never become one of them.
"Say it Edward." I tell him angrily.
"You don't want to be like me." He finishes quietly.
It didn't take long for Edward to leave my bathroom so I could get dressed. It also didn't take long for him to realize that I wasn't going to be at dinner tonight.
"Erica?"
I jump off my bed where Edward had been watching me as I hear running footsteps.
"DENNY!" I hollar.
Denny, an 18 year old Senior at our high school, is my boyfriend. Denny is the farthest you can get from Edward's family. He was a punk and my parent's hated him. So did everyone in the Cullen family. I smirked when Edward glared at him and Denny smiled.
"Hey baby." He mumbles, kissing my cheek.
"That's all I get?" I ask coyly.
He nods, taking my hand an pulling me to the bed.
"Dude, out."
Edward looked at me and I smirked. He knew that he was my best friend, but he also knew when I needed time alone.
"No."
I look up at him, shock on my face.
"What the hell Edward?" I snap.
"In fact, you two can't be going out anymore." Edward said, a smile lighting up his face.
"Excuse me?" Denny snaps.
"Not like you to be so polite Denny." Edward states.
I glare at him and take Denny's hand, pulling it around my waist before walking towards my door.
"I don't want my fiance cheating on me Erica." Edward called out.
I froze halfway to the door and Denny's arm dropped.
"What did he just say?" He asked me.
"Den, last night my parents announced an arranged marriage between Edward and I." I tell him quietly.
I groaned when Denny started to turn around, but I beat him to it.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM EDWARD!" I scream.
Denny stopped, turning back to look at me.
"Denny, go home babe. I will see you at school tomorrow. I'm going to fucking rip him to shreds." I tell him, my voice low enough to be convincingly threatening.
Denny nods before walking over to me and kissing me on the lips, hard and long. I moan and lean my body into his, letting his hands slide around my back.
"Erica."
Edwards voice breaks us apart. Denny looks down at me sadly, and he knew what I knew. It wasn't going to be able to last much longer, and it was going to suck. How were they supposed to explain that to their friends?
"Erica." Edward's voice was louder.
I sigh before letting go of Denny; he walks past me and out the door, closing it behind him.
"You forgot. I know." Edward says quietly.
"Shut up about what you know Edward." I snap.
I turn on my heel after hearing Denny's car pull out of the drive and walk down stairs to face my parents.
"What was Denny doing here?"
"Coming to see me."
"Then it's over."
"No. It's not."
"Erica, you will NOT cheat on that boy."
"You're right. I won't cheat on that boy, so this engagement is more than off."
"That is not proper Erica."
"Shut UP Dad."
"Erica!"
"Fuck this. I'm leaving, and I'm NOT marrying that stupid unhuman monster up there!" I yell.
I let the tears flow freely as I grab my keys and run out to the garage where my car was sitting. But instead of taking my car I hop on the dirtbike that Emmett bought me for my 10th birthday.
"Erica don't." Rosalie calls out.
I shrug her off and turn the machine on, smiling when the engine roars to life. I sit on it carefull and back it out on my tip toes, before turning it around and speeding off down the driveway. When I get to the main road I turn left and head towards the woods, hoping that I could get some alone time without any of those stupid unhuman freaks. When I finally reached the woods, I stopped my bike and sat on it, leaning on my right leg.
"Erica."
I groaned as Edward walked out of the woods towards me. So much for peace and quiet.
"What do you want?" I ask angrily.
"Just come with me."
He holds out his hand and I tighten my grip on my handlebars.
"Emmett will take the bike back." He tells me, looking into my eyes.
I shake my head and stand, as best as I can on the stupid thing, and pull the kickstart out.
"Not happening little one." Emmett's voice comes from behind me.
I look up at the sky and scream, as loud as I can. Edward looks at me with a bemused smile on my face before walking over and lifting me off the bike.
"I HATE YOU!" I scream as Emmett starts my bike and takes off down the road.
"Come on Erica." Edward pleads.
"NO I HATE YOU ALL!" I scream.
Edward sets me down, but doesn't let me go, and no matter how much I pull and push, I know it won't do any good.
"Then stop moving!" He snaps.
I glare up at him and cross my arms across my chest.
"I'm taking you home." He mumbles.
I shake my head and reach into my pocket for my cell phone.
"Who're you going to call? The police?" He asks sarcastically.
I didn't know who I was going to call, but I took it out anyway and started running through my contacts before landing on Denny's number. I hit dial as Edward sighed.
"Hello?" Denny's voice was thick.
"Den? It's Erica."
"Oh..um hey baby."
I can feel my eyes turn to slits as laughter sounds in the background.
"Denny we didn't break up." I tell him.
"Look, Erica...you're engaged and well..I mean, I was upset and Sh.."
"Shelly?!" I yell.
"There's nothing wrong with Shelly." He argues.
"Shelly?" I ask, trying to keep my voice even.
"Yes. Shelly."
"That stupid preppy whore. I'll make sure she pays Denny, you know I will." I threaten.
"What the hell is wrong with you Erica? Shelly isn't preppy." Denny yells.
"She's a fucking poser Den!" I yell back.
"We're done Erica; you have your own preps." Denny snaps.
I let the phone fall as the tears cloud my vision. If it wasn't for Edwards arms around me, I would have just sat on the ground, getting my jeans wet. I let Edward pull me to his chest, not bothered by the tears soaking his t-shirt.
"Are we really that bad Erica?" He asks quietly.
He already knew my answer, so I didn't bother saying it outloud. I let him pull me up into his arms and carry me back to my house. When we get there, my dirtbike is in the garage, the plastic shining cleanly. I smile at Emmett's attempt to make me happy and walk up the stairs when Edwards puts me down.
"You coming in?" I ask him.
"You don't want me to." He states.
"Read my mind asshole." I mumble.
He looks up at me with shock on his face, making me smile. He follows me inside and my parents smile at us. I stop, causing Edward to run into me; I roll my eyes knowing he did it on purpose and decide to play along. I lean back into him and let his arms wrap around my waist. My mom smiles at us and nudges my dad as I turn around to look Edward in the eyes. I tell myself over and over again that I want this, trying to make myself really want it. I feel his ice cold lips touch mine and I inhale sharply, inadvertantly pushing my body against his. I feel him smile against my lips and I can't hold back a smile.
"Take it upstairs, seriously!" Emmett calls walking into the house.
I smirk into Edwards lips, but he shakes his head, ever so slightly. He knew I wanted to mess with them, but he wouldn't let me do it. I plead with him in my mind, telling him over and over again that after a few more kisses and we would go upstairs, leaving them to think what they wanted. He shakes his head again and I glare at him.
"Edward please." I mumble as quietly as I can.
I heard Emmett grunting with laughter, and my dad and mom chuckling. Edward pulled a way just a fraction, to look me in the eyes. I look back at him and think about what I really wanted, and that was making my parents happy. Edward closed his eyes, lost in his own thought before he leaned forward and kissed me again. It was with so much passion and anger that I nearly lost my balance, but his arms around my waist kept me close to him, and I let my hands slide around his neck. I could tell that he wanted more, and I knew he knew I was starting to feel the same way, but I also knew how much pain he was in from kissing me. I tried to pull away gently, but he didn't seem to want to let me go.
"Hey Rose...what do you think?" Emmett asks her in a playful voice.
I hear a hard slap before Edward pulls away from me.
"Shit Emmett, can't you go get dominated elsewhere?" I mumble, a bit confused and more than a little angry.
This only caused Emmett to laugh harder, and my parents to join in. I unwillingly let out a squeak when Edward picked me up and without a word, carried me upstairs, stopping only when the door was shut, locked and I was on the bed under him.
"Keep telling yourself you want this Erica." He snaps.
I close my eyes and then look at him again. He looked away with a sadness in his eyes that I couldn't place and I sat up under him.
"Edward."
"I already know." He tells me quietly.
"Let me just say it please. It'll help me."
He nods his head and shifts his body so he's sitting next to me.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't using you back there. In fact, I think I was starting to like it. But you can't take advantage of that Edward. I love you, not the way that I should since I'm engaged to you, but I do love you. You have to understand that it's going to be hard for me to accept this."
I pause and look at him, but he won't meet my eyes.
"Shit Edward. You look like shit right now." I tell him.
He grunts, causing me to sigh. I lay down on my bed, resting my head on his chest and I feel him shift under me; when I look up he's looking down at me.
I want this Edward, I think, looking up at him. He shakes his head and I feel myself getting frustrated.
"DAMNIT EDWARD!" I hollar.
"Hey keep it down in there you two!" Emmett hollars through the door.
I groan and huck a pillow at the door when Edward nods. I laugh as it hits Emmett square in the face.
"HEY!" Emmett yells.
He glares at us before walking further into the room.
"What do you want Emmett?" I ask a bit irritated.
"Your parents want you to come downstairs. Your mom wants to talk to you or something like that." He tells me.
I sit down and try to control my anger at being interrupted in my conversation with Edward.
"Tell them I'm in the middle of something and that I'll be down soon." I tell him.
He smirks before walking back out of my bedroom.
"Go lock the door mindreader." I mumble to Edward.
He's there and back before I hear the lock fully click and I lay back down, my head on his chest again. I do want this, I tell myself, forgetting about Edward for a second. Plus, he's very handsome, the eyes, and the hair and...I stop myself when I feel Edward chuckling under me.
"Shut up." I snap.
He smiles down at me and within a second I'm laying under him again, my heart beating fast.
"I don't want to hurt you." I whisper.
He smiles at me and lowers his head.
"You won't." He promises.
I sigh and put my arm around his neck, feeling the cool skin against my warm skin. I tilt my face to meet his and inhale sharply when his cold lips touch mine. He pulls away after a second and I groan.
"Erica, I want to marry you first."
I pulled away from Edward as best as I could with his arms behind my head and let my head fall to the side, closing my eyes.
"Erica come on." He mumbles angrily.
"No Edward." I snap, wiggling my way out from under him.
I hear him sigh but I walk away from the bed and to the door. I unbolt it and walk downstairs where my parents are sitting with the Cullens. I could tell they knew I was angry just by the way they avoided eye contact, but I felt a calm come over me and I realized that Jasper was standing close to me. I smile softly at him and nod and he gives me a small smile before sitting next to Alice.
"Erica, we understand that you don't want to do this but..."
I hold up a hand for silence and my dad stops talking, looking at me carefully. I take a deep breath before I say anything.
"Look, I love Edward and the Cullens." I start, looking over at Rosalie.
"All of you." I add as an after thought.
Rosalie looks at me cautiously but says nothing.
"I don't love Edward the way you all want me to, and this is so sudden. But I expect that you aren't expecting me to change who I am just to fit in with this family."
My mom opens her mouth but I shake my head.
"I'll marry the stupid guy, but I will not. And I mean I will NOT turn into one of them." I spit out.
"Erica."
I turn around to face Edward who is standing unnervingly close.
"Back off." I snap.
He shakes his head and then grabs my arms before I turn to run. I glare at him when he turns me around to face our families.
"She's lying." He states.
I close my eyes and look at the floor.
"Erica?"
I look up at my mother with anger in my eyes.
"What's he talking about Erica?" Rosalie asks, her voice taunting.
I shift uncomfortably in Edwards arms and twist myself around to bury my face in his chest. I feel his hand on the back of my head and I start thinking again; I just want them to be happy, I tell myself, and I want to be happy too, but I miss Denny and I don't want to kill people. I feel Edward flinch, but I know he feels the same way.
"She'll do it." He tells them all quietly.
I hear Rosalie hiss before storming off to the kitchen, followed by a chuckling Emmett. I try to hide myself by pushing against Edwards body, causing him to laugh. I hear my mom and dad and Edward's parents laugh along with Alice.
"Take me upstairs." I tell Edward quietly.
He nods and picks me up gently and carries me up the stairs, smiling when Emmett walks back into the living room hooting and hollaring.
~One Year Later~
~June: Graduation~
"I'm NOT GOING!" I scream at my mother.
She ducks behind the door as I throw, with excessive force, a shoe at the door, effectively denting the wood.
"Erica, please don't make me get Emmett up here." My mom pleads.
"BRING IT ON!" I hollar.
I walk back into my bathroom and look at myself. My eyes had just started turning a light honey brown, and my face was as pale as snow. I growled at myself before putting my fist through the glass, throwing shards across the room.
"Erica, come on, graduation isn't that bad." Emmett mutters walking in.
"Shut up." I snap.
"Just becuase you're my sister now doesn't mean you can be a bitch!" Emmett yells.
"I don't care what I am anymore!" I hollar.
I sit on the floor and put my head in my hands. I hated what I was. Hated it with every fiber in my being. I can't have kids, I can't grow old. I wanted to die. The only good thing was...
"ERICA RESINDA CULLEN GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!" Edwards voice sounded through the house.
I smirked at Emmett who looked down at me, a smirk on his face.
"Is Rose still mad after the last stunt we pulled?" I ask him.
He shakes his head and grins as I get to my feet. When I married Edward, and I became...one of...them...I found out that I was just as strong as Emmett; and it didn't fade either. I was just as strong as him and a bit faster than him a year later and he loved it. We played pranks on the others constantly and got in trouble, constantly. I jumped onto Emmett's back with ease and barely held on as he fled down the stairs and past Edward, nearly knocking him over. Neither of us knew what we were doing, and so neither did Edward. I laughed when I saw Edward following us and started laughing harder when Rosalie, Jasper and Alice joined in the chase.
I jumped off of Emmett's back as soon as we neared the football field and felt a sense of pride as Edward nearly bowled into us.
"Erica." Edward's voice had anger in it.
I cringed and realized that I had forgotten to tell my parents I was going.
"It's alright, we figured it out when Emmett was gone." My mother says, stopping next to us.
I smile up at her as she takes the rest of the family to find seats on the bleachers. I turn to my husband, not looking him in the eye.
"Don't think that Erica." Edward mumbles, his voice laced with guilt.
I shake my head and turn around, all in one swift motion and it makes me smile. But I frown when Edward grabs my arm and spins me around, pulling me close to his body. I narrow my eyes at him as he tilts his head towards mine.
"I love you Erica." He tells me before planting a light kiss on my lips.
I stay perfectly still, which isn't hard anymore, and I wait until he sighs, giving up.
"What's wrong?" He asks.
I glare at him before turning around and walking to where my graduation was starting.
~P A R T Y~
I look around the house and smirk, all my old friends were there, but they had a tendency to stay away from me. I watch Denny getting yelled at by his newest girlfriend and I walked over to them.
"Hey Den."
"Erica?"
He looks at me, confusion evident on his face. I smile and nod my head and watch as his girlfriend stalks off.
"Sorry about that." I say, gesturing to wear his girlfriend was now standing with her friends.
He shrugs and takes a few steps closer. I watch him carefully and smirk when I notice Edward watching from a distance. I shake my head and look back at Denny, focusing on him. Denny was leaning towards me to say something.
"Hey, let's take this outside!" He yells.
Of course, I could already hear him, but I noded anyways and followed him out towards the back deck where the music was quiet. I let him lead me to one of the darker areas, and even smirked when he pulled me down on his lap.
"I missed you Erica." He mumbles into my ear.
I lean my head against his, releshing the warmth from the human skin, the warmth I would never have again.
"You missed me too, right?" He asks.
I nod, and lean my head lower, resting it on his chest. I raise my head a little bit when he rests his hand on my lowerback. I knew I wasn't being fair, but I wasn't going to let myself lose this moment with someone I had loved and hadn't been able to love in over a year.
"Erica come with me back to my place. My rents are out of town." Denny tells her.
I nod and stand up, letting him take my hand and lead me off the porch and around the side of the house. I had completely forgotten about Edward. I was so extremely happy to have Denny back in my life, that I think Jasper was the reason why Emmett and Alice were standing in the front yard when I got there.
"HEY SIS!" Emmett's voice roared over the music from inside.
I didn't even realize he was talking to me as Denny pulled me to his car. I sat in the passengers seat and let him shut my door. I felt completely content.
~Alice's P.O.V.~
"Now what?" Emmett asks his sister.
"She will sleep with him if we don't tell Edward. But you're going to tell him so it doesn't matter what I say." I tell him.
I watch Emmett turn around and blur off into the house, turning back to watch Denny's car drive down the dirt road with my new sister in the car.
~Erica~
I sat quietly on the ten minute drive to Denny's house, blissfully unaware that my husband was following us along with his brother. I look up when Denny stops the car, and smile at the small house, getting out and following Denny to the front door, but before he can open it Edward is standing in front of him.
"SHIT!" Denny yells, jumping backwards and stumbling into Emmett.
"FUCK!" He yells out, this time stumbling sideways.
"Watch your language. There's a lady present." Emmett snaps.
"Hardly." Edward mumbles.
I look up sharply at Edward and take a few steps towards him before Emmett grabs my arms.
"Let's go little miss bitch." Emmett mutters, pulling me backwards.
"I'm not leaving Denny here with this fucking monster!" I snap.
Emmett stops in his tracks and drops my arms; I watch in slow motion as he steps to the side and Edwards hand grabs my throat. I smirk at him, while Denny gapes.
"That hurts so badly Edward." I say lightly.
"I can make it hurt so much more Erica." He tells me, his voice low.
I grin at him and in a flash, I'm gone; I'm headed back to my parent's house and into my old bedroom through the window. I know that Edward is only seconds behind me, and that Alice and Jasper had arrived at Denny's house to help Emmett calm him down. As soon as I come to a complete stop, Edward has me pinned against the wall, his lips touching mine.
"Erica that wasn't funny." He whispers.
I smirk and look up at him with my eyebrows raised.
"Edward, I don't think anything's funny." I tell him, trying to keep my voice low.
"Kiss me."
I laughed. He hadn't asked, he had simply told me. And I knew what he was going to do before he did it, so I turned my face ever so slightly so his lips hit my cheek. I closed my eyes against the feeling, trying to keep my feelings down.
"I love you Erica, but DON'T hurt me!" Edward yells.
I cringe at his words and look back at him, then at the floor when I see the pain in his eyes.
"I love you too Edward, you know that." I tell him before kissing him.
♠ ♠ ♠
Just a response to a fanfict challenge